Derek Amato (born November 19, 1966) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

who sustained a head injury on October 27, 2006, and subsequently became a musical savant. At the age of 39, Amato dove into a shallow swimming pool and hit his head, resulting in major concussion and 35% hearing loss. Although he had played the guitar prior to his injury, the level of his musical ability suddenly progressed to the point where he was able to compose for piano. He has been diagnosed as experiencing a form of

synesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who re ...

References

1966 births Living people Acquired savants {{US-composer-20thC-stub